No, not the SV650. The one before that-Honda Hawk GT 650. V-twin, water cooled, light, very popular [esp on racetrack], very hard to find in the US since only imported (or made?) 88-89.

What is it with v-twin 650's that create such a following? And is the Hawk a viable alternative to the sv650? Assuming that you like both looks the same and dont mind the loss of ~10hp to the sv why wouldnt you want one of these exclusive bikes? I dig them.

The Hawk GT is a super sweet bike, especially with all the Two Bro's stuff on it.  There's one at school thats all decked out and I drool over it everytime I see it.  I even saw a CB1 at school on Thursday that I spent some time looking over... never had seen one in person before

http://www.hawkgt.com/

The Hawk has some great lines too.  Single sided swingarm is dead sexy :mrgreen:

http://www.hawkgt.com/album/album.asp?imageid=793

Honestly, I'd take a nice Hawk GT over an SV even with that power deficit.  They both have truck loads of potential mods and great handling but I'm partial to the Hawk  

somthing about Vtwins i guess, i would love to Modify the swingarm from a hawk on to the GS, single sided is so nice, can run a 160 wiithout issues of Clearing chain. sigh



fair amoung of torque to that engine to, but its a 30 degee vtwin and abit buzzy.

The hawk gt is *the* cult bike in the bay area.  Cool looks (naked with single sided swingarm), sporty feel accentuated by narrow waistline, good handling and sharp steering with nice clip-ons, low seat height, great sound (with supertrapps or two brothers pipes) and smooth power from the v-twin, and really reliable.  I probably would have bought one over the GS if they didn't command such a price premium (10+ year old small bikes for $3K just seems hard to swallow).  Ironically they sold terribly at the time (lacked the full fairings and blinding color schemes that seemed to be popular back then) and many sell today for the same price as new.

Hawks are definitely comparable to the sv650 (which also has an inflated resale value compared to new, imo): nice engine, easy mods, good chassis comprimised by budget suspension parts.  Swap in a F2 front end and a nice rear shock (fox twin clickers seem to be the favorite) and you have a good track day weapon though it isn't really class competitive anymore afaik.  A couple things to keep in mind are that some of the parts are starting to get to be hard to find (or at least abnormally pricey), the fuel tank is small so range is limited, and the passenger seat is decidely less usuable than the GS.

Ultimately, I think the trade-off between the hawk and the sv is cult-bike style against modern practicality and value.  The sv is more powerful, a better chassis to start, a little lighter, and considerably newer (the hawk was discontinued in '91), but the hawk still has a certain cache that the all too popular sv lacks.  If you don't mind paying the premium, dealing with an older bike and hard to find parts, and will enjoy the looks, go for it.  It may not be quite as sensible, but I find it a lot more alluring.

I dont understand the appeal of that narrow waist/whole bike...sorta like pencil duck to me...Well too fat is bad too...The GS and EX and SV are just about right for my eye.
Cool.
Srinath.

How much differs it from Honda NTV650?
http://www.album.ee/?o=300055597
Those aint pricey in Europe...

Yes a big following for sure but at 50 hp I'll take a GS at 43.  Or if you want different find a Yam 400.  Now that is a cult bike with some serious handling.

European NTV650 has a steel frame (Hawk is alloy), shaft drive (Hawk is chain) and bigger tank.  Also 5-speed box (is Hawk 6-speed?).

Is the Cagiva v-raptor 650 available in the states? it has the Suzi engine, and looks a lot like the SV650 but the old Italian magic with the gearbox etc, give it a few more horses and mph, a yellow one often leaves me feeling very pedestrian on the way to work!  very nice piece of kit.

Quote from: johnYes a big following for sure but at 50 hp I'll take a GS at 43.  Or if you want different find a Yam 400.  Now that is a cult bike with some serious handling.

You mean the yzf400? Thats also an option I was considering. I relly like that bike too. I tend to like exclusivity, or at least originality [If you haven't noticed already]. That's why I think I prefer the Hawk to the sv...it seems everyone and their sister has an sv these days. I dont mind the hp rating compared to the sv-I sem to do fine with the GS so an extra 10 or so for a hawk would suite me fine.

I think you're being a little generous with the GS hp figure-isn't it more like 37? Please dont make this a "How much HP" thread though!

You want a cult bike, try to find an SRX600...

The guy I bought my GS from now owns a hawk 650.  I've never ridden a sv650 but I can tell you that the hawk is killer bike.  The hawk tail is a bit ugly in my opinion but I'm going to have to go with pentablo in that the sv650s' are becoming quite common.  On the other hand, the hawk redlines at 8000 rpm...

well since you mentioned the yzf 400 ... why not the hard to find GSX-R 400RR or RM with upside down forks ... i would love to have one of those


w00t

Yeah, the hawk is really handicapped by the old vt500 3 valve head (even with hotter cams).  I don't think there are any straightforward head swaps most radical projects go for an Africa twin or other engine swap or just port/polish and add hotter cams and flatsides.

Since you've clearly got the mod bug you can always go for an extreme sv rework, how about a street fighter look, shotgun exhaust, gsxr front end, and vfr single sided swingarm: sv monster.  Or maybe an F4s style exhaust on an svs with nice suspension and rc30 single sided swingarm: mini mv project.  And you can get really bad with a nitrous streetfighter: kyle's hooligan.  None of them are quite my style, but you can get lots of ideas from that kind of start.

The first two projects from MotoMorphic a HawkGT/SV/etc. specialist shop in the North Bay (they've done some pretty radical NT650s in the past).  Of course, there are lots of cool Hawk GT project bikes, like the Honda Bros RC31 Hawk GT with an africa twin, Steve Beatty's Hawk GT, and various Two Brothers 750 race bikes.  The Hawk GT Registry is chock full of mods.

For other cult bikes, check out the Yamaha YZ-400F, Yamaha FZR-400s (especially with 600 engines/parts shoehorned in), Honda NSR-250 (grey market bikes iirc, but you can find CA regs), Honda CB-1 (a bit anemic), or maybe the Cagiva Raptor 650 mentioned in another thread.  There are a lot of cool 400cc sportbikes in japan (the SV-650 was adapted from the SV-400 japanese bike) and you'll find occasional grey market bikes, but CA regs command a pretty big price premium.

Rare bikes are fun in their own right (and you got to have some style if you're going to frequent the rock store).  Personally, I'm always more impressed by inventive custom projects than spending dollars on a purchase for the latest and greatest or most rare.  If you have the time and inclination I'd suggest keeping an eye out for a good project candidate and start thinking about some radical mod ideas.  Its a much longer road to a new bike, but you can end up with something amazing and it sounds like the gs is largely meeting your needs for now.  Besides architecture and mechanical engineering aren't that far off, are they?

Quote from: rjsjrPersonally, I'm always more impressed by inventive custom projects than spending dollars on a purchase for the latest and greatest or most rare.

I couldn't agree more.
Thanks for all the info!

The Hawk is a very nice bike, and they are much cheaper outside the Bay area. Florida seems to have lots.

There is a pretty hot one for sale on the local race club classifieds. Not sure if it couldbe streetable again or not. Keep in mind this is $3500 Can, or about $2,600 US. You could probably get it for less:

Need to Sell!!!! 1988 Honda hawk NT 650cc, Dynoed at 68HP at May race weekend, bike has: Crower titanium rods, Wiseco 12:1 80mm forged pistons, Megacycle camshafts, oversized valve, R&D springs, Keihin 39mm flat slide carbs, vt 500 ignition black box,Progressive fork springs, Fox shock aborber, Kosman wheel widening, Kosman floating frong disk, RS 500 caliper and controls, Steel braided brake lines, rear drive modification. All work has been done by two brothers racing over $9000.00 US has been put into this race bike. Asking $3500.00 firm, have all receipts and extra parts for machine. New michelin race tires Please contact Karen at 238-0515 or at Blackfoot Motorsports @ 243-2636 in parts. Reason for selling is I am returning to Fire School.
KAREN RAITHBY <xenaracing@hotmail.com>
CALGARY, AB CANADA - Fri Aug 29 15:12:07 2003 PST

Photo here:

http://www.gemstoneimages.com/CMRA/2003CMRA/Am21/index.htm

Wow, $9000 in mods and the result is 68 HP --about the same as a stock SV650?  Don't sound all that great even when considering that the Hawk GT's stock baseline is even fewer HP (mid 40's) than it is credited with in this thread.

I lost interest in the Hawk GT when I learned that the U.S. was getting a cheapened version without shaft drive.  But, the bike's low sales figures were probably due to the dead motorcycle market of the time and Honda's then new strategy of demanding top money for higher end product (AL frame, single-sided swing arm).  In contrast, the SV650's success story is based on the tried and true formula of "bang for the buck."  Also, didn't hurt that the Hawk GT had already created a racing niche for track enthusiasts.

Our club dyno reads fairly conservatively. Most SV's are below 65 on it, a lot down at 61 or so with full exhausts, raised tanks, etc. 68 hp on our dyno is a pretty respectable number. And a lot of those $9k dollars were on other mods besides the engine.

The Hawk is a fun bike to ride, and it goes pretty well. The frame was designed by Elf in France. It is a much better made motorcycle than the SV, and it does have the exclusivity factor.

Don't know anything about the seller, but here are some more cool grey market/cult bikes to look at.  I particularly like the RVF400 NC35 (400cc V-4 mini-interceptor from japan), looks like a great little canyon strafing/track day bike (as long as the top end is more solid than those old 500cc interceptors, the rc45 derived motors were great but the early ones ate heads due to oiling problems to the gear driven cams).  The CA titled one is pretty darn expensive too.

MFactoryWest

What gorgous bikes htey are. I pulled along side one a few weeks ago back in Calgary, I had not seen one ever before and was blown away at its power, and relativley small stature. Absolutley stunning. I wanted to sell my GS right there. The Honda was for sale too!